NOCTURNA AND OTHER STORIES

A student of prog with a facebook following to show for it, CARY HEUCHERT played all instruments on his debut. I suppose that might erroneously raise comparisons to MIKE OLDFIELD but here all the pieces are uniformly mellow without any psychotic breaks, a sparse concoction of mostly gently plucked electric guitar and strummed acoustic and classical guitars and a few synth washes. One lone number even introduces equally chill vocals, and it doesn't seem jarring in the slightest. This is the sort of music one might have heard during the heyday or non commercial radio between 2 and 6 AM, and maybe still can on the CBC. Hence the title and themes are most appropriate.

It's kind of obvious this isn't the work of an actual flesh and blood band because the arrangements don't justify the resulting salary expense, even for a prog folk project. To Heuchert's credit, tunes like "Drifting" and "Evening Song" are instantly enjoyable whereas "Far East Mountain Suite" is more involved but no less rewarding. Ultimately, this may be too nuanced for prog rock fans who take the noun as seriously as the adjective, and at times Heuchert sounds like he is exercising his home studio's acoustics more than pursuing new directions in prog, but this remains a worthy debut for night owls from a fellow who doesn't play by the numbers.